The Original Single Malt From India

Tag Archives: Kadhambam

We are now up to Batch 4 in the Kadhambam ( 1st release notes here , Batch 2 notes here ) , Kadhambam is a Tamil word meaning “Combination” or “Mixture” , it is an un-peated malt that has been matured in ex-rum , brandy and Oloroso sherry casks .

Once again it is a lovely polished Gold colour and produces wonderful oily legs in the glass . It has a lovely relaxed nose , shortbread biscuit is the first note followed by quite a fruitiness (the 3 different casks are playing their part here) , the usual Amrut liquorice seems quite subdued in this one .

On the palate we get the liquorice ! Also toffee , spices and a sweetness i would associate with rum , feels very luxurious across the tongue . The finish is long , spicy , sweet and very chewy !

Another great dram , a bit more relaxed than the regular Amruts , after dinner i would say .

When Ashok was over in the USA recently he announced the release of a Kadhambam specifically for the US market . This one differs from the previous release in that it’s at 50% ABV and it was matured slightly longer in one of the casks . Once again it is an un-peated malt that once again has been matured in ex-rum , brandy and Oloroso sherry casks .

So whats it like ?

A deep Golden Syrup colour , it Seems to take a little while to open up , eventually the liquorice comes through with Shortbread and chocolate , it’s a very relaxed nose , sweet as well . The palate has a lovely silky sweetness to it , Liquorice , vanilla , dark fruits , honey and spices . The finish is pretty much the same a continuation of the palate and is quite long .

So how does it compare to the original ? It seems sweeter on the whole than the first one , definitely more fruitier, only the finishes seem the same , i think i may well prefer the US version due to sweetness and fruitiness . The fruitiness , i’ve been told , comes from the extra maturation mentioned earlier .

Another excellent Amrut , The Americans are extremely lucky to be getting this wonderful dram .